The death toll from a building collapse in the southern Iranian city of Abadan has reached 10, with some people still missing, the official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.
The 10-story residential and commercial building partially collapsed on Monday, leaving at least 80 people under the rubble, according to state TV.
"After hours of emergency efforts, 30 people trapped under the rubble were extracted alive and taken to hospital to treat their injuries," a deputy governor of the Khuzestan province told IRNA.
The number of people still trapped under the rubble remains unclear.
The building was located in the Tehlenci Emiri district, according to the Turkish Anadolu news agency.
Angry response
The building is known to be part of the Metropol complex on Amiri Street. Angry residents reportedly stormed the municipality, blaming faulty construction for the collapse. Numerous rescue services arrived at the scene and looked for unaccounted people.
Locals also said that authorities sent anti-riot police to the area, leaving locals angry that instead of ambulances, the authorities first sought to control the people’s anger.
“Instead of rescue workers, nurses, ambulances and blood, the government is sending special units and riot police. To whom should we tell this pain,”
one person wrote in an online forum in Farsi.
In 2017, the Plasco building in Tehran collapsed, killing 20 people and injuring more than 100. It was a 20-story building that was constructed in the 1960s. A fire caused that building to collapse and firefighters were killed in the incident.
Reuters contributed to this report.